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We near the dock, and with our approach, an array of noise joins our conversation.

“I wrongly thought you were intimidating,” Theo answers, using his left hand on the mini steering wheel at the center to guide us behind the other paddleboat. “And I was a coward. I tried; little things like ‘Got a pen?’ or ‘How’d you do on the exam?’ But I could see you just drifting off. Now, though, I had something that could grab your attention.”

“Your case,” I say, filled with guilt-ridden butterflies.

“Our case.” He smiles as he emphasizes the word our.

“Theo.” I lean closer to him. “But why?” Surely he can’t be saying what I think he’s saying.

“That’s up to your imagination.” He lifts his hand—our hands—and I realize we never unwound our fingers from each other.

Stunned, I feel my jaw drop as Theo lets go to grab the rope by the dock and steady our boat to it. His words, the warmth in them, the obvious hidden meaning under them, are stuck inside my head like the center of a bell tolling back and forth, back and forth. It would probably play for hours if not for the sound of Lexie’s sly voice.

“Well, well, well, look at you two,” she calls at the edge of the dock. “How was the ride?”

“Great,” Theo says, climbing onto the deck. He turns around and extends his hand to me. I eye it like it’s poisoned, embarrassed that I had held on to it for so long, but he only reaches lower and pulls my arm until I stand. The boat shakes and I instinctively grip onto him quickly, and he pulls me up.

“What were you doing on the boat?” Lexie asks as Theo starts unlatching the clips on my life jacket. It only makes Lexie’s eyes gleam with joy.

“Experiencing life,” I say, giving her a shut up face.

No way, her face says in response, eyebrows waggling. “I wanted to take selfies on the water, but the other paddleboat is broken. I was waiting for you to get back.”

“I’m all boated out, sorry,” I say, ignoring Theo as he pulls the life jacket off me.

“Come on, not even for your best friend?” Lexie says, stepping in and pulling me into a tight hug.

“Definitely not.” I push her off.

“I’ll just go put this back,” Theo says, walking away and leaving me alone with Lexie.

She watches him for a second, then whips her head toward me, then the boat, then back to me. I watch her eyes go wide as she points to the paddleboat. “Oh, Violet, is that your phone?”

“What?” I rub my hands along my back pockets, but it’s not there. “Damn, it must have slipped.”

Carefully, I climb down. I go to my side and can’t spot anything, but the shadow beneath the curve of the pedals is heavy, so I lean down and reach forward, the entire boat swaying at the movement. My hands glide among the slimy, cool, and slick boat in a way that makes me wish I’d packed hand sanitizer.

“Don’t worry,” Lexie calls, sounding a little farther away. “The water is only, like, six feet deep.”

I look up, and I’m yards away from the dock. Then, from my position, I realize the boat I’m in isn’t the one I was just on, and Lexie, the demon, the traitor, is holding my phone in her hand, waving at me.

“I’m going to kill you!” I sit, trying to pedal, but the equipment is locked in place.

Theo makes his way back to her, then his head whips to me. I can’t hear what Lexie is saying to him, but it’s very clear she’s pretending she has no idea what has happened. Why did she set me up? Did I miss her birthday?

“What am I supposed to do?” I shout as the current pulls me closer to the opposite dock.

“Try calling for help?” Lexie shouts back.

Theo frowns at her, then he calls out, “I’ll come to you.”

There, again, I see the fin right by the boat. I shout and bring my knees up to my chest. I know I’m not crazy. I saw it.

“It’s just a dolphin,” Theo shouts.

“How do you know?” My throat tears in a scream when Theo yanks off his sweater and jumps into the water. He immediately comes to the surface and swims toward me. “Are you insane?”

He reaches me so fast that I realize I’m not too far from the dock, but that realization is drowned out by the very real fear Theo is going to get his leg snacked on by a shark. He grips the edge of the boat.